Language of the Day: 5 Weird Christmas Words
This time of year, you might be hearing a few strange vocabulary words that you never heard before. Don’t stress, we’re here to help. So let’s go through a few of the Christmas-specific terms that pop up around the holiday season.
Tinsel
Tinsel is a decoration you see a lot around Christmastime. It consists of shiny metallic strings of plastic that catch the light and sparkle. They can be strung up on a Christmas tree or used to decorate a house. Traditionally tinsel comes in silver, but other colours exist too!
Stocking stuffer
Stocking stuffers are small gifts that, instead of wrapping and placing under the Christmas tree, we put inside a huge brightly coloured sock called a stocking. When the stocking is full of gifts, it looks “stuffed,” so the gifts are called stocking stuffers for this reason. Common items to find as stocking stuffers are toys, candy, chocolate, decorations, and even fruit.
Krampus
Not everything about Christmas is cute and lovely… Krampus is the name of a Christmas creature from European folklore. In these old stories, Krampus and Santa Claus (St. Nicholas) visit the children of the world together on the night of December 24th. Wheile Santa delivers toys and candy to the children who have been good, Krampus punishes the naughty children by hitting them with a stick!
Eggnog
Eggnog is a popular Christmas beverage in Canada and other parts of the world. You can find it in any grocery store, but only around the holidays. It is a thick, milky drink made with cream, sugar, eggs, and spiced with flavours like cinnamon and nutmeg. it can be served cold or hot, with alcohol like rum or brandy, or even with espresso. Go try an Eggnog latte for yourself at a local cafe!
Caroling
This Christmas tradition is one you might have seen in movies. Christmas songs like “Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells” or “Silent Night” are referred to Christmas “carols,” and when a group of people go around town together singing Christmas carols, we call this “Caroling.” Sometimes carolers dress up in historical clothing and go door-to-door, and other times you’ll find them at public places like light festivals or shopping malls.